Journalist says further 'dynamite' is locked away

Peter Oborne, the journalist who sparked the row over Tony Blair's role in the Queen Mother's funeral and led to Downing Street going to the press complaints commission, has insisted the "killer" memo from Black Rod that led to the case being withdrawn remains "locked in a safe somewhere".

Oborne says the memo from Black Rod, Sir Michael Willocks, contains further revelations about the incident.

Whitehall rumours suggest it claims No 10 went as far as ringing Sir Michael on a mobile phone while waiting for the Queen Mother's cortege.

The memo is said to suggest an official wanted to know whether it would be acceptable for Mr Blair to walk down Whitehall greeting the crowds. No 10 insists ministers merely wanted to know whether they should walk or go by car.

Accusations that Mr Blair tried to "muscle in" on the Queen Mother's funeral were first made by Oborne, who is political editor of the Spectator.

Today's Spectator account of the background to the original story comes just days after Number 10 confirmed it had dropped its complaint to the press complaints commission about the magazine and two other papers - the London Evening Standard and the Mail on Sunday - which had picked up the story.

In the latest issue of the Spectator, whose cover depicts Black Rod caning a bare buttocked Tony Blair and Alastair Campbell, Oborne says it was secret evidence from Black Rod that forced Mr Campbell to climb down over the affair.

"The document did not merely prove our story was true; it went very much further. It contained a number of highly embarrassing revelations," writes Oborne.

"It showed that if anything, the Spectator and the Mail on Sunday had understated the amount of pressure applied by Downing Street. One person aware of the contents of this killer memo describes it as 'dynamite'.

"Meanwhile, that killer memo lurks in a safe somewhere: Downing Street must be praying it never sees the light of day," he adds.